A Twist of Lemon

The family is in full glory chez Isle of Palms, SC. One of our stops was Shem Creek Bar and Grill, where Ainsley insisted she play with a lemon accompanying my water. I obliged her, and we got some great shots....Do you remember when your lil' ones first partook of serious citrus?

Summer Time is for Friends and Family

Ainsley has been lucky to be visited by a number of great pals and family members the last 2 weeks: Nallely, Scott, Tracy, Great Aunt Sue and Uncle Dan. And then she saw her Nanna this last week -- Big BONUS. We're finally getting into the summer vibe and looking forward to some time in South Carolina with Grandma Van Howe and the Van Howe family of Davenport-- our first ever family BEACH vacation. Oot Oot. Hope you and yours are doing grand.

Walking Footage and Tricks

Some cool things Ainsley does:

* Walks with purpose
* Knows how to pivot
* Sits on tush and does 360's with her heels
* Says bur for bird
* Says wooh and then blows for a dog woofing
* Says Ahdah for Alex and Gayee for Grace
* Says mommy and da da and means it
* Says baba for bottle
* Says na na for night night
* Says hi
* Says deese for this and points
* Waves to people, pictures and objects
* Gives kisses (open mouthed) and blows kisses
* Puts herself to sleep sometimes (for naps and at night time)
* Laughs often and enjoys chuckling when others chuckle (like she gets the joke)
* Loves to be outside, touch plants, grass, eat mulch and dirt before her parents catch her
* Is currently addicted to cheese and goes mmmm mmmm and points if she sees any (including in/on deli counters and in public)
* Loves her family and friends and shows them with big smiles, pats on the arm or back, kisses and hugs

A 10-year-old cousin

Hard to believe that our sweet little Molly Rose turned ten today. Seems like just yesterday that she was the first baby to be born in to the family and now she is an official pre-teen. She's brought so much joy in to my life it is hard to describe. I look forward to being her "favorite uncle" for a long time. Plus it is really fun to watch her interact with Ainsley.

We had a great time at her birthday party tonight as you can see. The cake was really good and the ice cream was awesome as well. I was the judge at a game of freeze dancing. This isn't as easy as it seems as nobody wants to come out once Hannah Montana or whomever starts to sing.

Happy birthday Molly! Let kid birthday season begin! You-know-who is up next month, followed by Zoe later in July and Tommy in August.

Midwestern summer meals

Here's a couple videos from our awesome visit to see Jim Farah and Ellie. What is not captured in this video is the absolute scream Ainsley let out when mommy took the corn cob away! Okay, Ainsley you like corn on the cob. Got it. I don't know what you can do with only six teeth, but knock yourself out!

Next we've got a look at life during dinner time with 16 month old and 10 month old baby girl cousins. Ellie wanted to sit in Ainsley's oh-so-exotic high chair so we did the old switcharoo and let them enjoy some food. Look at how good Ellie is doing feeding herself!

She walks!

Ainsley has been standing on her own, cruising with more confidence, and traveling like a baby b-ball player for the last month....but last night...on May 26th...with her dad showing her a toy from slightly stage right of her play table, and her mom looking on, she took solo steps -- 1, 2 then 3 and 4 and over to her father. Then she plopped down, smiled with pride, pulled herself up and walked to mom. More video footage to come...in the meantime, enjoy these gems from mother's day.

Mother's Day Rocks, even for dad

Hello from a bad blogger. I fell off the wagon but I'm back now. We had a fantastic first mother's day. Actually it was a mother's day weekend. Started Saturday with a visit to the Morton Arboretum. Who knew it was started by the Morton salt people? Morton, of course, makes our favorite land salt for daily table and popcorn use. Our favorite sea salt comes from France of course. I digress.

The arboretum was great! Totally beautiful place. Great children's area, lots of amazing plantlife to see and a great dining room. Can't even call it a cafeteria. Grilled salmon salad and a full view of the pond? Lovely!

Mother's day was fun. Started with a nice breakfast and then we tapped the knowledge of momkins to help us buy plants for the backyard, which we spent all day putting in the ground. It all looks great and we can't wait for some warm and dry weather to get out and enjoy it!

Well I haven't uploaded those pictures yet but I have this one which was taken on Ainsley's 10 month birthday which took place on May 6.


Have a great day and here is to more blog posts soon.

Tip Toe Through the Tulips

Spring has sprung! Life is good for the Avers' family. Ainsley is on the precipice in terms of taking her first step. She stood, solo, with legs spread in grand plie (accent on e) and shaking, a couple of times at the Connors' house a couple of weekends ago, is cruising like a champ, and has no fear. Her favorite thing these days is holding onto our hands, running through the house, with the other parent "chasing" her from behind. We get big laughs.

The other day, Scott had her zooming on her walker (which transforms to a rider), she was giggling, they were moving fast. They stopped, she took a big, happy sigh, and then blurp went some spit up...the equivalent of a baby roller coaster experience, I guess.

She's a big fan of plant life and likes to fool her parents that she is just touching, then looks to the side as if disinterested, and then quickly and slyly pops a fist-full of grass or other greenery in her mouth. In fact, we missed a strand of grass the other day...so she ate her first blade of grass...how Walt Whitman of her?? Farah, help with my literary references? I'm such a delinquent English major.

Ainsley is double digits today -- 10 months! I can't believe it...this gets even sweeter, right, parents? I'm emotional at 10 months, can't imagine what the 1 year mark will bring or her first day of kindergarten...

In other Avers' news, my last day with TCC Group is May 21st. It's been 8 years, and it was a tough decision to make, but we want more time together as a family and are trying to "downsize" the stress level in our home. I think so highly of the firm and grew up professionally there. I know I will miss it, but I'm excited about this next chapter....

Surviving Easter

Lori Rauser, Jen's godmother, visited us over Easter. We always thought she was a fairy godmother, and now we're convinced. She showered us with delicious gourmet dinners, books and adorable clothes for Ainsley, and witty conversation. After making it through a hectic end of week in Oak Park, we all headed out to Rockford to celebrate with Grandma Van Howe and the Van Howe's of Davenport. Unfortunately, sweet Ellie had a nasty flu bug which was shared with Farah and ultimately Ainsley. We've all recovered, but we're grateful to have had Lori and Grandma VH around to help us sodier on.

Ainsley just had her 9 month check up, and despite losing some weight due to teething and the Easter virus, she's doing wonderfully. The doctor said her motor skills are that of a one year old, and she's clearly very social. No suprises here... as one mom at the library said, "she is very motor driven."

We're all so pleased to have had a 80 + degree day and get outside. Whoo hoo--we know our midwest friends and family are ready for warmer days and outdoor fun! Hoping all are well. We will try to get more current with the Blog moving forward -- March and April knocked us around..

New tricks, sort of

I think spending the last ten days with Ainsley has shown me how fast she grows and changes. I always keep in the back of my mind something many parents have told me-that each stage gets better and better and they are right. She is doing a couple things now that she wasn't doing when we left and they are all cute and amazing! I attempted to capture the tongue wagging and waving on video. Of course, she barely did it when the camera was in her face at grandpa Bill's place yesterday. She is also walking when holding our fingers which I will get next.
The cell phone will be the default video camera until I can figure out how to uplaod the camcorder on to the Mac again. Ugh!

An Easy Breezy Traveler

We just returned from Henderson, Nevada to visit Nana and Papa Avers. Our daughter was enthralled with the experience, start to finish. She made friends wherever we went -- waving to all on the planes, in restaurants, on trails in Red Rock State Park-- she had people melting from Illinois to Nevada. We were spoiled by Kathy and Jerry and enjoyed quality time together. Ainsley will surely be bored without her grandparents kissing her constantly, waving back, changing her diapers, and ready and willing to take her anywhere at anytime. Before we left for NV, Ainsley had us gasping as she pulled herself up for the first time in her crib and cruised around the perimeter. At Kathy and Jerry's, she took to Scott's old rocking chair, pulling herself up and looking for our approval. It was a great vacation!

More St Patty's Photos

Babies love a parade

Hi Everyone. We are hopelessly behind on our blog postings around here, but here's a quick video from last Saturday's St. Patrick's Day parade in Elmhurst. This is easily one of the most fun days of the year. It was exciting for Ainsley and Ellie as you can tell.

The School of Hard Knocks

It happened. She is safe and fine, but she did fall off the bed last night. In my attempt to protect her from the heater vent and metal trash can she was grasping, while I was opening the pack-n-play to keep her safe but near me last night (while dad was away), I set her in the middle of the bed for what seemed 1 second. The next thing I know, kah-boom -- sweet baby Ainsley is face down on the rug. Poooooor baaaabyyy! She was hysterical but calmed down fairly quickly. I stripped her down and looked for bumps, scratches, tested her for pain by placing pressure all over , gave her some Tylenol and a teething tablet (her favorite)...and she just giggled and made faces. PHEW! I kept checking on her through the night to see that she was breathing and no bumps emerged.

This morning, I confessed my sin to Valerie, who calmed me and assured me that these thing happen. As our friends the Sundstrom's commented, "babies are hard to break." Even so, the guilt is MASSIVE.

Just this afternoon, Valerie phoned to let me know that she had "one up-ped me" and that Ainsley took another spill, this one while confined in her pack-n-play--apparently knocked her head through the netting against the nearby wall. Valerie said she has a small red bump -- to which she applied a cold compress. Again, after initial crying, Ainsley was transfixed by the compress and in good spirits.

So this is the beginning, eh? Help, more seasoned parents! Do they make baby helmets and body casts? I'm hoping her self awareness soon catches up with her increased mobility. Poor thing! And in the meantime, we adults will try to monitor her more closely. Eeeeks!

No Puke in the Pool to Slow us Down this Saturday

This weekend was big for the Avers. The pool at our new gym was all clear, and Ainsley took to the water like the little crab her zodiac sign suggests she would. She eyed the other kids, giggled, looked to dad and mom for reassurance, and then grabbed at the water, kicked her feet, and tried to launch herself to the nearest kick board. Upon grasping the kick board, she proceeded to hold onto the sides and tongue-dive the wells of water pooled up on the board's surface. No fraidy-cat here...

Among other fun tricks as Ainsley met her 8 month birthday:

• scrunching eyebrows and breathing quickly only through her nose (like a little bull) -- seems to be associated with frustration or to get a laugh -- she will mimic when interested in performing
• interested in solid food; we're moving slowly here, but we did present her with a teething biscuit earlier this week, and she was in seventh heaven, moving her jaw rapidly and testing out her two bottom teeth
• mimicking when people make funny faces (she really likes to perform for Alex)
  
• uttering momma or um-mah and meaning "I want momma now"
• trying to drink from a cup (she really likes it when grandpa VH lets her at his ice water)
  
• pulling herself up alongside the crib railing or against the ottoman--standing strong with little support from furniture or adults

In other news, our friends Andrew and Carrie Beredo babysat Ainsley Saturday night. Scott and I enjoyed a great dinner, and Ainsley performed for the Beredo's and showed no signs of missing her parents. Of course, we like to think that this means we've fostered a well adjusted child; though, in reality, it's likely more attributable to the fact that Carrie and Andrew are natural baby-pleasers and adept at all that they do. They even managed to keep everyone calm when our over sensitive fire alarm went off when they were cooking pizza.

We'll put a pic up soon of Ainsley in her swim suit...too cute for words...

In like a...

(lion-get it?)

Happy March everyone!

We're continuing to wait for spring and yet it seems like it is getting farther and farther away. Yesterday was super cold once again. I went for a run and the bank clock at Oak Park Ave. and 290 said 20 degrees. Sure it was sunny, but it was super windy and snowing! What is up with that.

Ainsley continues to crawl faster and faster. It's turned in to a full fledged army crawl now. She has both the arms and legs in motion. I feel like things are really changing fast lately. She can't stand to be on her back during playtime or for diaper changes, which creates extra fun. Up until now she is relatively easy to contain but now that she wants to move all the time I feel like our level of effort has to go up to match hers. (Everyone in unison-You're surprised by this, Scott?) She's also much more responsive and every once in a while will say "mamadada" when you say it to her!

We did something to change up our routine this weekend. We joined a new gym! It is right in Downtown Oak Park and it is very nice. The reason we joined is that they have an onsite daycare facility, something our old gym (which I liked very much) was lacking. Now either Jen or I can drop Ainsley off for up to two hours and get a nice workout in, get a massage, or even just sit on their sundeck (weather permitting). We can even watch her on nursery cam channel on the TV's attached to all cardio machines!

The other good part about the new gym is that they have Family Time from 1-5 on the weekends. Great! We figured this past Sunday we would take Ainsley swimming for the first time ever. So we all get our suits on (we need to send pictures of her in her swim suit-so cute!) get ready and head out the door about 3:45pm. (We all fell asleep after a delicious morning brunch at Ben, Michelle and Benamain's house. Benjamian, for those of you who don't know, was born two weeks after Ainsley and the two of them had a future together until Tiger Woods baby was born. Have you seen that baby? Ainsley is in love!) Anyway we get up there, sign on the dotted line and excitedly walk in to our brand new gym only to learn that the pool is temporarily closed because some little kid threw up in the pool. Awesome! Hasn't anyone in this town heard of the "wait 20 minutes after you eat before swimming" rule? Ugh.

Crawling progress, part II

I love to watch our baby continue get her legs under her. Here's the latest progress captured on well, digital video (can't say film anymore as there really is no such thing-right?).




Little sweetie has had a runny nose for the past few days. She's in good spirits but not sleeping for very long stretches at night before waking up and needing her little nose wiped. I still can't believe that there is no easy cure for the common cold! Why is it that we can fix so many things that go wrong with the human body but get a COLD and you're out of luck? I will never get that. Oh well. Any and all mom remedies to make baby a little more comfortable are welcome in the comments section of our blog.

Is Your Baby Turning Orange?

Valerie, Scott and I, protective of anything to do with Ainsley, assured some observers that Ainsley was not jaundice, but Sicilian....After a friend of Val's, a pediatric nurse, suggested Ainsley might be ingesting lots of beta-carotene, and hence a slight orange-glow, we all decided to take notice. And yes...given Scott's best intentions-- one food for a week or so, we realized, the poor kid has been eating nothing but beta-carotene for the past couple of weeks (even the spinach and potatoes had trace amounts). So yes...we turned our baby slightly orange -- a Johnny Depp-as-Willy-Wonka-oompa-loompa orange. Poor baby. So we've omitted the beta carotene for a while and she seems to be returning to her rosy hue.

Attempting to Crawl

We've developed a modified crawl until we get to the real thing. Take a look...

Fun with Photo Booth

Come to learn that our Mac has this cool app called Photo Booth. Ainsley and I had some fun with it before she went to sleep two hours ago at 6:30pm. More to come on that...